A charred and heat-warped photo of 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha and his family. The baby and father have now died; the mother is in intensive care. Photo by Rex Features

The Office of The Chief Rabbi 305 Ballards Lane London N12 8GB34

Dear Chief Rabbi,

We welcome your unequivocal denunciation of the murder of Palestinian toddler, Ali Saad Dawabsha. We are sure that your condemnation is shared by the vast majority of British Jews too. Now we learn that Ali’s father has also died from 90% second degree burns. It takes little imagination to realise what a painful and appalling death that must have been.

We are a group of Italian Jews against the occupation of the Palestinian land by the State of Israel, and obviously against the Israeli policies related to this. We are active for the peaceful coexistence of Jews and Palestinians in the land between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean sea, which implies the same rights, freedom and independence for all people, whatever their ethnic origin and their religion. We created our association, Ebrei Contro l’Occupazione (Jews Against The Occupation) in 2001. We oppose, just as well, the mainstream stance of the Italian Jewish Communities: the most uncritical Jewish nationalism, which supports Israel whatever it does.

The members of Een Andere Joodse Stem wish to express their pain and anger on the murderous attack that took place tonight in the West Bank. We were appalled to learn that the terrorists who killed the Palestinian infant, Ali Saed Dawabshe, and injured his entire family, have used Jewish symbols when conducting an act that is neither Jewish nor human.

On June 29th, the Israeli navy assaulted the Swedish boat “Marianne” in international waters, seizing its crew of human-rights activists and its cargo of humanitarian supplies in what can only be called an act of piracy. The passengers were dragged against their will to the city of Ashdod in Israel.